Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Why do stadium auditoriums have sloped seating?

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Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 05-03-2005, 09:12 PM:

It seems like some stadium seating auditoriums have almost 1/2 of the seats in standard sloped floor arrangement in front of the stadium section. Why is this? What is the point of installing stadium seating if so much of the audience will be in the sloped seats?

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 05-03-2005, 09:35 PM:

Lyle,

I don't have the exact answer for you but from what I've noticed and from some common sense, this is what I've come up with. If you look at stadium seating it sits back away from the screen, so everyone has a good view of the screen. That leaves alot of empty space between the first rows of stadium seats and the screen..(Theater owners thought process) hmmm empty space = more seats. For some reason stupid little kids like to sit in the first row and so do some stupid adults...they must have great necks. Thats my thoughts, although probably not the real reason. Hope I helped some

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-03-2005, 10:05 PM:

Kurt -

That's good reasoning, but you're right, it's not entirely the real reason. The inclusion of slope-floor seats in a stadium auditorium has everything to do with ADA regulations (i.e. wheelchair spaces). The theatre is required to provide wheelchair spaces in the "prime" seating area of an auditorium. If an auditorium has ONLY stadium seating, then the prime area would be halfway up the stairs, and an elevator would be required to get the wheelchairs up there. By including some slope seats, the "prime" area can be designated in the back of the slope area (or in the front row of the stadium) and the wheelchair spaces placed there.

Regulations differ in various sized auditoriums, but if it's a large house, that's probably most of the reason for the slope area.

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 05-03-2005, 10:21 PM:

Mike,

Does ADA specifically define what the "prime" are is? Or is it up for interpretation by a judge during a lawsuit?

-Lyle

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 05-03-2005, 10:55 PM:

Besides the ADA mandated guidelines, a full stadium ( which is more common outside of the USA ) requires more building height = more construction cost. Full stadiums also require more distance from the screen so as not to get vertigo from looking downward to the screen. There are cinemas I saw in Peru with full stadiums that as you walk in from the rear entrance you found yourself stumbling down the aisle due to looking down at the screen...an architectual created funhouse effect [Wink]

Ideal prime location would entail comfortable viewing within the field of view of an eyeglass wearer and not elevating the head more than 15 degrees...but this is the compromised based on architectual and client restraints.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 05-04-2005, 12:28 AM:

They've got to be "dispersed" throughout the auditorium.

The guidelines consider 1% for wheelchair accessibile seating, & another 1% for companion seating. Also, they must provide a choice of areas comparable to the choice of areas available to the other patrons:
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm#4.33

quote:

4.33.3* Placement of Wheelchair Locations. Wheelchair areas shall be an integral part of any fixed seating plan and shall be provided so as to provide people with physical disabilities a choice of admission prices and lines of sight comparable to those for members of the general public. They shall adjoin an accessible route that also serves as a means of egress in case of emergency. At least one companion fixed seat shall be provided next to each wheelchair seating area. When the seating capacity exceeds 300, wheelchair spaces shall be provided in more than one location. Readily removable seats may be installed in wheelchair spaces when the spaces are not required to accommodate wheelchair users. Appendix Note

EXCEPTION: Accessible viewing positions may be clustered for bleachers, balconies, and other areas having sight lines that require slopes of greater than 5 percent. Equivalent accessible viewing positions may be located on levels having accessible egress.

and some additional stuff for retrofits like historic theaters:

quote:

(f) Assembly Areas:

(i) Where it is technically infeasible to disperse accessible seating throughout an altered assembly area, accessible seating areas may be clustered. Each accessible seating area shall have provisions for companion seating and shall be located on an accessible route that also serves as a means of emergency egress.

The Shuberts & Regal are the ones that have gone round & round with this (more than they needed to, they could have just done right in the first place).

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 05-04-2005, 01:22 AM:

..'sides, when one is sitting in the conventional sloped seating area that is towards the front, looking up at that BIG screen is quite awesome.

Plus, some people just don't have the appeal for the stadium seating concept-just like the old-fashioned seating arrangement.

Other comments of building size, costs, codes and handicap requirements are valid as well.

I work with a 8 screener where all of the auditoriums are split in half with this seating arrangement-to fit all of the other comments that were mentioned above.

-Monte

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 05-05-2005, 11:40 PM:

Initially, a couple of exhibitors DID do all stadium seating configurations, where you walked down to the front of the auditorium and stepped up to the seating. This put the handicap seats in the very front of the auditorium, looking up at a screen several feet above their head, making an enjoyable experience impossible. The ADA filed suits over this configuration.

Today, Cinemark and AMC are both building all-stadium seating auditoriums with two tiers of seating. You enter the auditorium at mid-height and either step up or step down. Handicap access is in a very sweet spot indeed.

The newest Cinemarks have an elevated front exit accessable via ramp, whereas the past few years you'd be running your wheelchair down some steps. It wasn't quite as bad as it sounds, but not ideal either.

Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 05-10-2005, 12:29 AM:

If a complex opened with sloped seating but was later retrofitted to stadium seating, they will usually leave a small section of sloped seats at the bottom. They did this at my location.

Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 07-04-2005, 03:02 AM:

Same here... 4 theatres were retrofitted with Stadium Seating and, although the seats were replaced and upgraded, a fair amount (around 20%) of sloped seating was left in place.

In regards to the ADA regulations, how do they apply to older theatres? In other words, if you have an auditorium that was furnished without the spacing for wheelchairs with a fixed companion seat next to it, is it legal to continue to operate the auditorium without a retrofit?

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 07-04-2005, 06:20 AM:

Yes. ADA did not mean every theatre had to retrofit.

Check "new construction" at
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm#4.1.3

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 07-04-2005, 07:08 AM:

Even for those not disabled but have difficulty managing steps, they usually prefer sloped seating. We had a theatre in Brooklyn that retrofitted two of their rooms with stadium only seating; it was pitiful watching the elderly and larger individuals nearly killing themselves trying to get into their seats. I remember thinking, Gee, I wonder when managment will realize that lots of their patrons hate this configuration. Sure enough, three lawsuits later (one from a serious trip-and-fall injury) they added a slope section.

We have stadium seating in our mezzanine section behind the sloped orchestra. Unfortunately in the original design, the steps in the isles were spaced unevenly, with the distance between each step not the same. Going up was ok, but as you walked down the steps your foot would anticipate landing on a step at a certain distance, whereas it landed two inches further down. That's a very sudden jolt you get when that happens, almost like getting a step pulled out from under you. If you are quick on your feet you can recover, but many people would stumble....some actually would fall. "Watch your step" had special meaning in our theatre.

With our renervation last year, that problem was finally fixed.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 07-11-2005, 09:33 PM:

Cost of additional room height is the main reason for a combo of slope & stadium.

In any large sloping design, there is a higher & higher pitch as you go more toward the back. This is because the sight lines tend to flatten out as you move rearward. At some point you don't have a legal aisle for wheelchairs. With mid point entry and screen level exit, the wheelchairs are taken care of. It then DOES NOT MATTER that there are steps in the rear. Lynway Plaza, Goshen Indiana is, to my knowledge, the first recent stadium design; 14 years ago. The owner gave out over 125 blueprints.

Louis

Posted by Cam Jones (Member # 2684) on 07-12-2005, 03:13 PM:

The one theatre here in Canada has all stadium seating for the most part. Just in front of the stadium seating is a flat area which allows for wheelchair users and companion seats. Then if you go down a few stairs from when you walk in there is about 3-4 rows of sloped seating that is seperated from the stadium seating and is in front of the screen. These seats are rarley used.